Musings, observations, and written works from the publisher of Eckhartz Press, the media critic for the Illinois Entertainer, co-host of Minutia Men, Minutia Men Celebrity Interview and Free Kicks, and the author of "The Loop Files", "Back in the D.D.R", "EveryCubEver", "The Living Wills", "$everance," "Father Knows Nothing," "The Radio Producer's Handbook," "Records Truly Is My Middle Name", and "Gruen Weiss Vor".
=Big turnout on Sunday for Tony Fitzpatrick's Celebration of Life at the Metro. Over 1100 people came out to pay their respects. A three hour celebration featured speeches from the likes of Rick Kogan, Alex Kotlowitz, and Illinois Poet Laurete Mark Turcotte, and a few live musical performances including Ike Reilly. Tony's son Max served as the emcee of the night, and his daughter Gabby gave the speech of the night. After the event, a band led the crowd into a New Orleans-style funeral procession/celebration. Thanks to everyone who came out to this truly memorable night. Tony would have loved it.
=Two big events in the coming weeks for Nick Digilio and his book 40 Years, 40 Films. First, he'll be returning to the Lake Theater in Oak Park to present another film. This time it's the under-rated Batman classic, Batman Returns (the one featuring Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman). Of course he will also be signing and selling copies of the book before and after the film.
=Then, just two days later, it's the official Book Launch party at Kaiser Tiger (1415 W. Randolph) in Chicago. December 12, from 6-8pm. Come one, come all. Nick will be signing and selling copies of 40 Years, 40 Films. Here's the link to Event Page on Facebook with all the details.
=Great Doug Jones interview on Bill Turck's substack. Check it out here.
=Doug E. Jones grew up in the Chicago area, which is obvious when you read the great novel that just came out, Doug's Take Me Back to Chicago. It takes place in 1974, and the old neighborhoods really come to life. Doug lives in Oregon now, but he's coming back to the old hood on December 6th. He'll be here to do a signing at Sketchbook in Skokie from 5-7pm. This could be your only chance to meet Doug and get him to sign a copy of your book before Christmas, so don't miss it. The book is far out, man.
=By the way, that awesome Impala on the front cover is the exact same make/model/color that Eckhartz Press publisher David Stern drove in college. Don't ask what happened to it.
=Bob Conlon was in his element this weekend at the Irish Books, Music, and Arts festival at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Avenue in Chicago. They even served beverages. (How do you think he enticed publishers Rick and Dave to attend? Or the man who provided a blurb for the back cover, Brendan Sullivan) Here are a few photos...
=December 1st Bob will making his television debut on Fox-32 in Chicago during their midday show (10:20am). Be sure to tune in if you can. If not, we will try to get a video of the interview that we can share in a future column.
=Jeff Reiter has been keeping busy promoting his book. Last weekend he gave a talk at his church (good turnout, sold a bunch of books), and he's also doing another talk in December for the Dupage Birding Club (members only, unfortunately). Last week he also spoke to This Week in Birding with Bob Dolgan.
=In the coming weeks, look for The Best of Words on Birds to be featured in the December issue of Birding Magazine (from the prestigious American Birding Association.) They will have a full review of the book. When we get the on-line link, we will share this article with you.
=What a wonderful presentation by Jim Slusher last week at the Vernon Area Library in Lincolnshire. Jim is the managing editor of the opinion section of the Daily Herald and he explained to the assembled crowd how decisions are made about what gets into the paper and what doesn't. Most importantly he talked about media bias, and how to become a better informed news consumer. If he is coming to a library near you, highly recommend you see it. Of course he also talks about his book, To Nudge The World, which is nominated as one of the four finalists for Book of the Year by the Chicago Writers Association in the Indy Non-Fiction category.
=Ken Smoller was in town last week, and the transplanted Chicagoan always takes the opportunity to set up a chance for his fellow Chicagoans to come out and get a copy of his book, Last Comiskey. Thanks to everyone who came out to say hello.
=While the film producers were out in Hollywood pitching the film to big-time muckety-mucks, Mike and Jeffrey Gentile were here in the Chicago area filminganother promo.
=Another upcoming appearance by Vicki Atkinson. It's wait-listed already, but they are adding six more seats today.
=Those of you who have read Victoria Atkinson's book Surviving Sue know about her sister Lisa. She is one of the main characters of the book. Lisa is currently a resident at Clearbrook. Last year Vicki wrote a wonderful piece on her blog in support of that fine organization. You can read it here. Please consider giving to Clearbrook this holiday season.
Happy Birthday!
=Eckhartz Press children's author Ken Korber is celebrating a birthday this week (November 30). Ken has written eight books for us over the years, our most prolific author. Here he is with publishers Rick and Dave holding up a few of his covers....
=Two years ago at this time, Loop Files author Rick Kaempfer was all over the place. His first appearance (November 24) was at Blue Village Vinyl in Westmont. A bunch of former Loopers joined him there. (Mitch Michaels, Leslie Harris, Scott Childers, and Jeff Hoover)
=The same day Rick went to another former Looper's house, Leslie Keiling, and appeared on yet another former Looper's podcast, Garry Meier. Former Teenage Radiation drummer Gregg Potter was on that podcast too. You can watch it here.
=And the following night (November 30), the official book launch party happened at Pippin's Tavern in Chicago. This is where a lot of Loopers used to hang out back in the day. Many, many of them turned out for the party. Thanks to Will Byington for hopping on the bar to take this photo of us.
=And happy birthday to Looper (November 26) Roman Sawczak. Roman was the leader of Steve Dahl's band Teenage Radiation, and was also later the producer of Steve & Garry's show. He came out to a Loop Files appearance in Indiana. (That's Roman bending down in photo with John Landecker, Rick Kaempfer, and Mitch Michaels.)
=Don't forget to visit the Loop exhibit at the Museum of Broadcast Communications at 440 W. Randolph. It's only there until the end of January, and if you're a Loop fan, you'll love it.
=This week in 2016 (November 26), Mark Gelinas held the first of two book launch parties for his book Gel Strong. This one was at that Broken Oar Marina Bar & Grill in Port Barrington. Huge turnout. Great night.
=Ryan Baker is celebrating a birthday this week (November 25). The Channel 2 sportscaster was kind enough to come out to Rich King's book launch party at Guaranteed Rate Field and interview Rich and Ike. The interview aired on Channel 2's morning show.
=Two huge sports stars were born this week, Joe DiMaggio (November 25) and Oscar Robertson (November 24). Chet Coppock knew both men and featured them in his Eckhartz Press book Your Dime My Dance Floor. This photo of Chet and Oscar was taken in the locker room following the Milwaukee Bucks championship in 1971.
=Because the book is about the 1972 White Sox, every single member of that team gets a mention in the book, including Jorge Orta, born this week (November 26) in Mexico. Jorge was very young in 1972, but went on to become a World Series champion (with KC).
=This week in 2022 (November 25), Podcaster (Destination Eat Drink) Brent Petersen interviewed Back in the DDR author Rick Kaempfer about the many foodie moments in his novel. You can listen to that here.
=If that name Brent Petersen sounds familiar, you're right. He's also an Eckhartz Press author. This week in 2017 (November 30), he was following the war crimes trial from the Hague. The criminals on trial were the sorts of men portrayed in Brent's novel Truffle Hunt.
The Balding Handbook
=Author David Stern was at his guerilla marketing best this week (November 27) in 2012 when he was promoting his book The Balding Handbook. He went viral when he wrote an obituary in a Seattle newspaper for Hedda Haire. Get it? Read more about that here.
=This week (November 30) in 2016, Rick Kaempfer released this video to promote Father Knows Nothing. The song lyrics appear in the book. The video makes it come to life. Ironically, the video is edited by Rick's son Tommy, the original target of the song. Vince Argento is the singer.
=Nobody got bigger celebrity endorsements for his book than Life Behind the Camera author Chuck Quinzio. How does he do it? At the time of this photo, Rahm Emanuel was the Mayor of Chicago, and Chuck was a photographer for WFLD-TV, Channel 32. Rahm's birthday is this week (November 29).
=Here's the link to a Minutia Men Celebrity Interview that mentions Chuck. The interview with Deborah Norville just dropped last week. She remembers Chuck well.
=This week in 2011 (November 30), we released our first ever book, The Living Wills. We weren't expecting it to get such an outpouring of good reviews. Here are a few from readers...
"I absolutely loved this book! I enjoyed everything about it - the characters, the storylines, and how it all fits together in the end. It took a few chapters for me to really get into it, and then I didn't want to put it down. I cried when I finished it, but mostly because it was over. The story illustrates how connected our lives really are to so many other people, and in ways that we may not even realize. I read Rick Kaempfer's first novel, "$everance", and I liked that one too, but this one was even better! I would love to see more books from this team of authors - keep it up, guys!!"
--Chocoholic mom
""The Living Wills" is a wonderful story of the meaning of family and friendship in life. This book especially strikes a chord if you're from Chicago, but I would think that any reader would identify with at least one of the main characters, their problems, joys and relationships. Highly recommended!"
--Dina S.
"I am an avid reader across many genre. I enjoy taking diverse ideas and rubbing them together to see how I might surprise myself and learn something new, feel something different. The Living Wills is a terrific story that does the same thing between its covers. I laughed, I cried, I thought deeply, and I have taken action based on the wonderful and realistic story. This is a magnificent book for adults and particularly those of us who are into the second half of our lives or who know someone who is. It gives new insights into how to measure the meaning of one's life - whether in its entirety or just two seconds."
--Gil H.
"I absolutely loved this book! I loved the characters, the storylines, and especially how the stories all came together at the end. I also laughed and cried, and was sad when I finished the book. I would love to read more books by these two authors. Keep writing, guys!!!"
=Ken Smoller is coming back into town TONIGHT (November 17) and he's bringing a box of his award winning book Last Comiskey along with him. Come out, buy one, and get it autographed! He'll be at Kaiser Tiger (1415 W. Randolph in Chicago), from 6-8pm.
=Jim Slusher is making another library presentation tomorrow night (November 18) at Vernon Area Public Library. (More info here) His speech is entitled, "News Media Truth and Trust", and it couldn't be more timely. Of course, he'll also be signing and selling his book To Nudge the World which has been named a finalist this year for CWA Book of the Year.
Ken Korber
=Coming soon, another Eckhartz Press-related film (our 5th!). Ken Korber sent us this little tidbit this week...VERY excited to share that my children's book characters, Grace & Friends, are now part of a 2026 film adaptation project… Stay Tuned (literally). More to share soon.
=All of Ken's Grace & Friends books are available at Eckhartz Press. For instance, the E-Street Band guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt collaborated with Eckhartz Press and Ken Korber to put out Grace's Rockin' Roll Adventure. Here's what the subject of the book, who happens to be celebrating a birthday this week (Nov 22), had to say about it...
“We’ve reached hundreds of thousands of students with our free online curriculum, but we know there are kids without devices or good wifi, and that even if they have both, that remote learning is hardest on the youngest students. That’s why we’re doing this book the old-fashioned way, on paper!”
Little Steven Van Zandt, on his successful teachrock.org initiative
=Speaking of movies, this week in 2021 (November 17), Chili Dog MVP writers John Owens and Dr. David Fletcher got some great news about their book. Robert Feder reported the news in the Daily Herald...
A new book about the late Chicago White Sox legend Dick Allen has just been optioned for a documentary film. Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, The 1972 White Sox and a Transforming Chicago, soon to be published by Chicago-based Eckhartz Press, was written by John Owens and Dr. David Fletcher and edited by veteran sportswriter, baseball historian and author George Castle. (Here is the link to order.) “We look back at this unique time in Chicago history, when the arrival of a controversial slugger lifted the Sox out of a daunting hole and united a fractious fan base during a time when Chicago was going through tremendous changes,” said Owens, a longtime producer and president of the Chicago/Midwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
=That film is currently in post-production, and is going to be released in 2026, along with a new and updated Hall of Fame edition of Chili Dog MVP. This is the trailer for the movie.
=Last week Nick Digilio appeared on the Minutia Men Celebrity Interview podcast to talk about his book. You can listen to that here.
=He also had his first event where he was signing and selling the book, at the Lake Theater in Oak Park. Thanks to everyone who came out to meet Nick and see the movie he picked out to show everyone, Body Double, by Brian DePalma. Nick signed copies of his book before and after the film. Here are a few photos.
=His next one in December is Batman Returns. We will pass along the exact dates and times when we get them.
=Nick will also be hosting his official book launch party at Kaiser Tiger restaurant (on Randolph in Chicago) on December 12th, from 6-8pm.
=The celebration of life for Tony Fitzpatrick is this Sunday, November 23. The location is the Metro on Clark near Wrigley. The time is 3-6pm. Naturally we will be there. It really will be a celebration. A New Orleans Jazz funeral procession will follow the event.
=Your chance to meet Jeff Reiter is coming up. He'll be at Faith Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn on SundayNovember 23rd.Copies of the book The Best of Words on Birds are available at the church office there, but he will be signing and selling them at the forum he is hosting that day entitledConsider the Birds of the Air.
=Rick Kaempfer, author of The Loop Files, finally went to the Museum of Broadcast Communications exhibit he curated about the Loop. The exbibit runs until the end of January. The Loop Files is available for sale in the gift shop there. Eight other Loop-related books are on display as well, including books by Mitch Michaels, Bobby Skafish, Chet Coppock, Tony Fitzpatrick, John Records Landecker, Larry & Carl Rosenbaum, Dan McNeil, and Chuck Swirsky.
=One of the biggest stars in Loop history, Steve Dahl, is celebrating a birthday this week (November 20). Happy birthday to the Radio Hall of Famer. Here's a few bonus pictures of Steve (with Jim Belushi and John Belushi) that didn't make it into the book. (Photos by Paul Natkin)
=Bob Conlon has been out there hustling, promoting his new book. This coming weekend he will be at the Irish Books Arts & Music Festival at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Avenue in Chicago.
=In a few weeks, he'll be making an appearance on Fox-32 television in Chicago. Tune in on December 1st at 10:20AM.
=The reviews keep coming in. People love this story. This one comes from a reader named Herm...
"An exquisite masterpiece in my opinion. My grandfather closely mirrored Tim's journey (minus the bars, booze, and brothels--I think). He came here from Italy in 1906 at 16 years old with $5 in his pocket, started a trucking company with horses and had 10 kids during the depression. Even before reading the book, I always regretted not digging more into my grandfather's story like Bob did. I thoroughly enjoyed Celtic Knot."
=One of the major plot points of the Doug E. Jones novel Take Me Back to Chicago revolves around the difficulty in obtaining tickets to see the Bozo show. (It takes place in 1974). Turns out the Bozo show is also featured currently at the Museum of Broadcast Communications. You can even play the Grand Prize Game...
=Doug will be in town on December 6th and will be hosting his own book signing at Sketchbook Brewing Company in Skokie, Illinois at 5pm.
Happy Birthday!
=Randy Richardson has written three books for Eckhartz Press, Cheeseland, Lost in the Ivy, and Cubsessions. This week is his birthday (November 21). Have a great one, Randy!
=Fellow author Robert Walker is also celebrating a birthday this week (November 17). Here's what Walker had to say about Randy's novel Cheeseland...
Cheeseland’ is a novel that touches the reader; a novel about life, death, and how we choose to live our lives…how we want the dash between the dates on our tombstone to resonate.
Robert Walker, author of "Titanic 2012", "Bismark 2013", and "Children of Salem"
=There are also two Flip Side related celebrations this week. Tommy Shaw did an in-store appearance at The Flip Side this week in history (November 19), but more importantly, Flip Side's Mr. Cheap, Jeff Schwartz has a birthday this week (November 23)
=Vicki Quade sent us a note this week about her latest upcoming show...I'm performing my hit comedy, Christmas Bingo: It's a Ho-Ho-Holy Night!, at the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago for one night only, December 18. It's part of my new Nuns4Fun, Late Nite Catechism series rebranding. To order tickets, go online to: https://irish-american.org/event/christmas-bingo-its-a-ho-ho-holy-nightYou can also call the Nuns4Fun office at (773) 388-0730.
=This week in 2022 (November 22), Rick Kogan wrote a wonderful piece in the Tribune about Vicki Quade and her Eckhartz Press book Close Encounters of a Chicago Kind. You can read it here.(Photo: Rick Kogan and Vicki Quade)
=This week in 2021 (November 18), Randy Merkin had his book launch party as well. In his case it was a Who's Who of Sports Radio that attended. Here's a sampling of them...Jonathan Hood, Tom Waddle, Marc Silverman (with Eckhartz Press co-publisher Rick Kaempfer).
=A few people mentioned in Randy's book are also celebrating birthdays this week, David Kaplan (November 19) and Carlos Boozer (November 20)
=Randy has completed a follow up book to Behind the Glass. It will be coming out in 2026!
=This week last year wasEric Litt's book launch party in Skokie. Great crowd. Enthusiastic support for a fun book about movies you might have missed the first time around. (Photo: Eric and Eckhartz Press co-publisher David Stern)
=Are you part of a book club? Remember that most Eckhartz Press authors are happy to come to your book club if it can fit into their schedules. For instance, To the Men I've Loved author Pat Motto did a book club recently. There's nothing like getting a chance to speak to the author directly.
=One of the men mentioned in Patricia Motto's book To the Men I've Loved is former White Sox (and later Cub) player Jay Johnstone. (Jay was born this week-- November 20, 1945). This photo of Pat with Jay and Wilbur Wood is in the book. Note the autograph from Jay...
=This week in 2013 (November 18), Chuck Quinzio had the book launch party for his book Life Behind the Camera. A Who's Who of Chicago television news attended the function in Mount Prospect. Here's a sampling of them...Dane Placko, Dick Kay, Joanie Lum, Paul Meinke, Phil Rodgers.
=Chuck also gets a shout out from Deborah Norville on this week's episode of Minutia Men Celebrity Interview (posts on Wednesday)
=This week in 2016, Bobby Skafish was on the road promoting his book We Have Company. He made an appearance on the Northwest Side of Chicago (November 17), and also traveled to his home state of Indiana (November 19).
=This week in 2015 (November 23), Pat Colander had a book signing at her friend Bruce Elliot's great bar, Old Town Ale House. If you've never been, you owe yourself a visit. The artwork on the walls is all original work by Bruce himself. You can see a sampling of it behind Lois Berger, Pat Colander, and Bruce Elliot in the photo below...
=This week (November
18), Cubs radio announcer (and former Cub) Ron Coomer is celebrating a birthday. A few years ago he was kind enough to invite Eckhartz Press authors Rick Kaempfer and Bobby Skafish into the booth during a game. This photo is now in the book, EveryCubEver...
=This week in 2017 (November 19), Mitch Michaels appeared at the Chicagoland Record Show to promote his book Doin' The Cruise. Who did he run into there? Fellow author, rock star Jim Peterik. Jim is actually mentioned in Mitch's book. Small world.
=This week in 2019, Larry Potash from Channel 9 did an entire feature about Mob Adjacent authors Michael & Jeff Gentile for his show Back Story.You can still see it here.
=Larry later provided a blurb for the back cover of the book...
“Normally we can experience organized crime from a safe distance, from the page or screen – for the Gentile brothers, the action was right before their childhood eyes.”
=The best quarterback in Chicago history, Sid Luckman, was born this week (November 21) in 1916. He was a frequent guest on Chet Coppock's radio show, so naturally when it came time for Chet to write a book, Sid was one of the featured athletes.
=This week in 2011 (November 22), Robert Feder wrote a piece in Time Out Chicago about our first book ever, The Living Wills. This is what he wrote...
“Two former Chicago radio producers, Rick Kaempfer and Brendan Sullivan, have co-written The Living Wills, a novel about “a split-second decision made 30 years ago and the ripple effects it caused.” Harnessing the power of collaborative creativity, the two improvised the book’s three interweaving story lines. Set for release December 1 by Eckhartz Press, it’s available online at eckhartzpress.com. Kaempfer, whose previous novel, $everance, was a brilliant satire about the radio business, also writes an impressive series of blogs, including the Chicago Radio Spotlight.”
=Illinois Congressman Sean Casten is celebrating a birthday this week (November 23). Sean has met with Eckhartz Press author Janet Sutherland to talk about her support of Brain Aneurysm research. Casten even gave Janet an award at last year's Brain Aneurysm walk.
=This week in 2022 (November 23), The Northwest Indiana Times featured Chuck Swirsky and his Eckhartz Press book, Always a Pleasure. You can read it here.
=Every Baby Boomer can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing on November 22, 1963, the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. John Landecker is no different. He tells the story in his book Records Truly Is My Middle Name. Here's the free excerpt from the book.
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